Separation
by Sceptic62
Summary: When the Bearer of the Curse gathered the crowns and received the blessing of King Vendrick, he was given unlimited time, a most important resource. Especially when it comes to curing the cures of Undeath. And so, recognizing Undead and Life as two halves of the same coin, he split the essence of the Dark Soul. Leading to the creation of Grimm.


**AN: Hello. If you came here from my other stories, fret not, I will be updating soon. But for now, plotbunnies.**

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A flash of moon light. Quickly followed by two clanks of metal. A pearl white straight sword slowly rolled out of the hands of its bisected master. From across the room, one could hear the grinding of stone on stone as a crystalline blade made its way through the armor of its opponent. The shattered remains of the shield were kicked to the side.

"Aye, Lad! We've finished this one over here. I see you're done as well?" A helmeted man shouted from the distance. His crystal sword resting lightly on his leather clad shoulder. Another man stood silently next to him, dressed in the garbs of a barbarian and wearing a wolf based helmet. His rusted-over swords hung loosely in their holsters.

"Of course he's finished, unlike you he's an actual master swordsman." The barbarian commented snidely. The sneer on his face could be clearly seen through the wolf's mouth on his helmet.

"Just because you've gotten your body back doesn't give you the liberty to insult my heirloom, Vengarl." The older man growled out.

"You think your little wedding ring can stand up the might of my red iron, Benhart?"

"I think your bloody iron better be ready to be cleaved in half." Both men grasped tightly onto the hilts of their respective weapons. Benhart of Jugo preparing himself with a two handed grasp, and the barbarian Vengarl unsheathing both of his red iron scimitars. The third man in the room crossed the room slowly, quite used to their antics over the course of their travels. His fur collar and stainless, shining armor contrasting deeply with a sword that appeared to be born of the moon itself. He clasped a hand on both of their shoulders, and slowly nodded, looking directly ahead. Both of the Undead swordsman understood the message, and gazed upon their final destination. The Throne of Want. Covered in soot and ash, the small hut was certainly not a throne room in the ordinary sense. The line of golems and large crevice simply made the hut even more unappealing.

"Are we supposed to jump in the hole and fight those damn things?" Benhart questioned aloud.

"Of course not. You're supposed to fight me." Unlike the other voices in the room, this one came from a woman. All three men turned around, and were surprised by who had followed them into the abyss. None other than the Queen of Drangleic, Nashandra.

Or what they had to assume was the Queen. Her voice was quite similar. However, the similarities ended there. Her body had been restructured into an eldritch horror. Composed entirely of bones, her head had been replaced by a skull, and large bones, surely not human, replaced every fiber of her being, everything from her cursed dress, to the very scythe she now carried. The Bearer of the Curse hefted his Moonlight Greatsword onto his shoulder. Benhart hefted his own Bluemoon Greatsword, and Vengarl stepped into a powerful dual wielding stance.

"Professor Orion? Uh, Professor Orion?" The Bearer of the Curse looked around. Wondering who was calling him a professor, he called out. His voice certainly wasn't one would expect of a great hero on an epic and grand quest. His voice was quite gravelly, and certainly low.

Orion came to the present with a small shutter, closing off any reminiscing and turning away from his work-board to address the student calling his name. Unlike in his memories, his voice was a clear, yet soft tenor.

"Yes Ms. Rose?" He responded. Gone were the days where he was the savior of Drangleic. No longer wearing the armor of elite Faraam knights, Orion was dressed in a more simple and era appropriate attire. He was dressed in a solidly black outfit, with slight decoration. A cowl and small silver idol accompanied his black dress shirt, while his lower half was covered by a dark cloak. The clothing of the high servitors of the goddess of sin was his clothing of choice for this era of peace. He could almost taste the irony. Of course, no one in this time wore helms anymore. So, here he was, revealing a mop of black hair and his pale skin to the world. He turned his aloof gaze to his student. As he turned, the chain on his belt loop made a slight clinking noise behind his shifting clothes. Just because no one wore helms didn't mean he had ridden himself of all of them. They were important to appearances after all.

"Someone's at the door, Professor." The student squeaked out, pressured under the scrutiny of her teacher.

"Come in please." Every eye in the class watched patiently to see who had interrupted the professor's lecture. In walked a man with silver hair, a cane, and a pair of glasses.

"Hello students, professor." Ozpin greeted with a small nod.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything important, but a grave matter has just arisen." The man with silver hair was none other than the Master Huntsman Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy. Ozpin was dressed in a modest black suit, with the only addition being his walking cane and his green mantle.

"It is of no issue, headmaster. We were simply going over the Vale-Atlas war and various strategies used by members of both armies." Orion paused for a second, mulling over his next actions.

"Well class, it seems there is an emergency. We will be ending early for today. I expect a 10 minute oral report, a break down on micro and macro strategies of the Atlas squadrons, and a 1 page essay on each strategy, tomorrow. One set from each team." With that single statement, Orion's classroom emptied in a matter of seconds. Gesturing for Ozpin to sit, Orion pulled over an extra chair from the side of the room.

"What seems to be the problem Julius?" Orion said softly while folding both hands together in front of his mouth.

"Well, one of the student scouting teams found this out in the woods today. It attracted nearly all the Grimm in the forest to its location. I was hoping you would have a clue to what it was. Considering...your origins." Ozpin asked as he pulled out a wrapped object from his jacket. Ozpin placed the object on his instructor's desk, and unwrapped it slowly. Bits of pure dark, actual solid darkness, leaked out of the wrapping as he pulled more away from it. Eventually, the wrapping finally fell away, revealing a black and white statue of a misshapen man. Orion's breath hitched.

"Oh man, I can't believe Professor Orion assigned us that much homework!" Ruby Rose was not the most enthusiastic "theory" student. It was certainly expected with her age however. Compared to the rest of the students at Beacon, Ruby was considerably young, being only fifteen years old. Black hair in a pixie cut and being only around five feet tall added to her childish look. Especially with the red hooded cloak that was on her back.

"Could you not complain for once Ruby? It's not like it's even hard. Atlas's strategies were adopted by Vale years ago. They were designed for four man squads, and fighting around being outnumbered. Making perfect strategies for hunting Grimm. " Weiss Schnee, however, preferred to paint herself as a model student. Perfect theory and perfect practice was her belief. Even her hair was prim and proper. Done up in a long pony tail, her silver hair hung lightly over her left shoulder.

"Yeah sis, don't worry. Just go up there and explain what we do every time we fight Grimm out in the forest on scouting assignments." Yang Xiao Long said. Unlike her sister, Ruby, Yang had bright yellow hair, left in a messy state. It fitted her personality quite well, denoting her brazen attitude and wild demeanor.

"But...there certainly are questions. I don't remember professor Orion being classified as a school battle instructor. So why would the headmaster search him out for help?" Ever the cynic, Blake Belladonna focused more on the suspicious and abrupt ending to their class, rather than the aftermath. Her school uniform was accessorized with a small bow on her head, to cover her Faunus attributes. A pair of real cat ears.

"Wait, guys I forgot something, I'll meet you back at our dorm okay?" Ruby called back as she ran back down the hallway, leaving her team to stare at her exit.

"Anyways, Ozpin is probably just looking for advice or something. Don't get your bow ruffled." Yang dismissed off-handedly as she walked into their room, to gear up for the next class. However, Blake still seemed especially curious.

"But Professor Orion doesn't even seem that old. What sort of advice could he offer Ozpin anyways?" Blake countered.

"Well, the headmaster obviously appointed him as a teacher. Maybe he was some sort of prodigy with stratagem, and Ozpin invited him. I mean, the professor is only about three years older than us." Weis said as she pulled out her Dust-Saber, Myrtenaster, placing it in its hilt on her belt.

"Hmm. Maybe." Blake conceded, still unconvinced. Their conversation was interrupted when Ruby, who had disappeared earlier, walked into the room, and dropped herself on Weiss's bed. It was odd to say the least. Ruby, a spirit of pure energy and happiness, collapsing in exhaustion.

"Where did you just come from? And would you get off my bed?!" Weiss's frustration was clearly visible. Red complexion, white knuckles, and deep breathing were all signs that the princess of the Schnee dust empire was about to explode. She even stomped her right foot for good measure, to accentuate her anger.

"Mmmrph oom, Omrmr mermlld mrr mrarres err erdey. Rol meh rile re ere rrerin." Ruby mumbled through the pillow she rested her head on, clearly depressed rather than exhausted. Weiss was furious now.

"What?" Yang finally decided to intervene, stepping between the white haired girl and Ruby. Translating, Yang spoke.

"She said 'Professor's room, Ozpin cancelled all classes for today. Told me while they were leaving' " Weiss's anger quickly fizzled out, only to be replaced by confusion.

"You understood that? Wait, no, nevermind. Why would the headmaster cancel ALL the classes for today?" Ruby took it as her turn to speak up again.

"mry mernt mow." Blake strolled over from her side of the room and sat down Weiss's bed, pulling out her favorite novel, Ninjas of Love. After turning to her bookmark, she spoke up.

"I'd assume it has something to do with the emergency today. It must be something extremely important to draw the attention of all the professors, even non-combat ones like Orion and Port." Yang too took a seat on Weiss's bed, yawning and stretching. She laid down the other side.

"Well, might as well enjoy the free day. I guess it's nap time. " Yang said lightly before she begun snoring. Weiss was immediately broken out of her train of thought as something very important and very serious occurred to her.

"WHY THE HECK ARE YOU ALL ON MY BED?! WE HAVE FOUR BEDS IN HERE!"

"Roo rirr ro rrime"

"It's comfortable."

"Zzzzzzzz"

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

* * *

-AAAAAAA!" Three different people turned to look back at the academy.

"It seems like one of our dear students is frustrated beyond belief." Ozpin noted quietly. "Onwards then." Accompanying the headmaster and professor was Glynda

Goodwitch. Blonde hair, and her glasses made her easy to pick out of the crowd. It also helped that she had a bright purple mantle, and was one of the best dust users and Huntresses of the past century. She directed the two men to stop.

"It's right past this bramble on our right. The students not only found the statuette there, but something far more interesting." She took her crop, and whipped it across the vegetation. A short burst of energy followed by some red dust, and all that was left of the forestation was ash. What was revealed was a small clearing in the forest. Yet, unlike the other parts of the Emerald Forest, the tree line had completely blotted out the sun, leaving a pitch black overgrowth.

"This way." As all three stepped into the small clearing, a raspy voice called out.

"So, Young Undead, you've returned. Do you wish to restart your pilgrimmage?" It was heard from every corner of the clearing, echoing back and forth. Glynda raised her crop, and Ozpin pulled his sword out of his cane. Orion stepped forward, his cloak shuffling as he walked by the other two. His voice pierced the darkness, holding an authority and tone that neither had heard before.

"Grandahl, reveal yourself, before I burn your precious dark." And with that, the darkness faded. Or, to better describe it, receded. As the dark disappeared, it slowly oozed back to the farthest corner of the clearing. As it drained away, a small shrine was revealed, along with a decrepit old man in a high backed wheel chair. Glynda and Ozpin were both astonished. By both the potency of the ability they had just seen and the perpetrator. Orion walked up the old man with his body tense.

"Grandahl." Orion nodded.

"Young one." Grandahl nodded back.

"Why are you here Grandahl? I've vanquished your enemy, protecting your precious dark forever more."

"I am but a pilgrim, Young Undead. I do not decide where the Abyss takes me, but rather follow its whims. And while She has been banished through the might of your steel, you should know better. Nothing stays dead in the Land of Drangleic." Orion's expression remained calm. It was always a habit of Grandahl's to be as ominous and cryptic as possible.

"What I do know, however, is that She is no longer in the Abyss." That news set Orion into a flurry of movement. He dashed backwards faster than either Glynda and Ozpin expected, them both and putting them on his shoulders, carrying them out of the clearing and back into the Emerald Forest. Not even turning back for a second, Orion rushed for Beacon Academy. Ozpin, finally over the shock of how fast Orion bolted out of the clearing, was irate.

"What's going on Orion!? Why the hell are we running from what's obviously the cause of the increase in Grimm?!"

"Because he's not the cause, Julius."

" What do you mean 'not the cause' ? Did you not see the darkness that the shrine was generating? He must be using some sort of experimental dust to attract all the Grimm."

"Glynda, I know Grandahl. He wouldn't ever draw attention to himself. The old man's a hermit. Heck, he went as far to lock both himself and his shrine in the deepest cavern of the deepest crevice, filled to the brim with toxins. He then threw the key he locked away to be protected by a pair of gia- I mean, Goliaths. Trust me, he's not behind this. She on the other hand..." During the entire ordeal, Orion did not stop moving. He was sprinting at an incredible pace, especially with two extra bodies on his back. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and he saw the sky and sun slowly darken. He picked up the pace.

"While I do appreciate my questions being answered, would you mind putting us down now? Especially since you've managed to run nearly the entire trek we took here. Which was easily twenty miles." Ozpin's tone was sarcastic, but also held a large note of curiosity. What Orion had just done, was beyond the means of humanity, even with the use of aura. Around twenty miles in under two minutes easily pointed to something unnatural.

"I can't. If I stop to let you two down, She will catch us. And I'm not in the best capacity of fighting Her right now."

'Especially with you two weighing me down' Orion finished silently in his head. It had been another minute or so, before Orion could no longer see farther then ten feet ahead of him. But, he stayed true to his memory, and continued to sprint down the pathway they came from.

"Who is 'She' Orion? And why is it impossible to see all of a sudden?" Ignoring Ozpin's questions, Orion ran even faster.

"Oh, so you do remember me... Teehee. I missed you too Orion!" It was almost child like in its teasing and phrasing, yet it was obviously the voice of a women. A small twinkling sound rung out behind the trio.

FWOOOM. FWOOM. FWOOOM. Three fire balls of cataclysmic proportions swept by them.

'Warning shots.' Orion thought to himself. He could hear the another one of Her attacks charging.

"I need you two to fire as many of your ranged attacks as possible behind us. I don't care what element or what. I need you to slow Her down." Ozpin nodded, and pulled out his cane-sword's sheathe, and begun drawing glyphs as fast as possible. Glynda did the same.

"I don't care if you're a god damned zombie, Orion, but you WILL be answering my questions after this. Especially if it endangers my students. " Ozpin shouted over the sound of a tree falling nearby. Orion nodded in concession, and kept on running.

'Twenty feet. That's all I need. She can't fight the strength of the sun's light' Orion thought to himself. He broke through the treeline, carrying the other two teachers on his back. Right as a massive explosion of pure darkness erupted behind him. He dropped to his knees and rolled the other two off his shoulders, all three of them panting in exhaustion and relief.

The sound of footsteps behind them made Orion turn around, and immediately prepare himself for a fight. Ozpin and Glynda had already pointed both of their weapons at the woods they just came out of. A voice could be heard approaching from the distance.

"My, my, Orion. It seems you've gotten new friends. I wonder how the old bucket head and wolf man feel about this." Her taunts had always been poignant and stinging. He drew the fire of the soul from within himself, placing the flames of pyromancy in his right hand and the flames of dark pyromancy in the left. Their pursuer finally walked out into the light. White, angelic wings sprouted out of her back, enhancing her unearthly beauty. White hair fell in waves down her back, and her skin appeared to be crafted from polished marble. Her dress was the same eerie shade of white as her wings, ending in a ragged, frayed end that trailed behind her.

" I killed you."

'What the hell is going on... I know he is some sort of immortal, but what in the world did Orion do before I met him?' Ozpin thought to himself, sweat dripping down his brow, his eyes never leaving the form of what appeared to be a fallen angel. Ozpin glanced to Glynda, and she was staring right back. Both nodded. Survive first, questions later. His gaze returned to the angel as she began to speak.

"I know, honey, and I forgive you..." A globe of darkness covered her form, and when it disappeared, she disappeared along with it. Not letting their guard down, the entire group scanned the entrance into the woods. A soft voice whispered into Orion's ear.

"Afterall, we can't choose the ones we love." Ozpin was the first to react, his sword already swinging at the angel's back before she even finished uttering her sentence. Orion was not far behind, turning around and preparing to throw _Forbidden Sun_ right into her chest. Glynda was the slowest to react, and was punished for it. The women was instantaneous. She formed a spear of light in her right hand, and immediately ran the Huntress through. The two attacks missed, as the women teleported both herself and her prey back to the entrance of the woods. The woman threw the Huntress to the side, leaving a trail of blood as she did so. She turned away from both men and slowly started walking back deeper into the Emerald Forest.

"I'll be waiting for when you want to face me...alone." And with her final words, she gave one beat of her wings and took off into the darkness.

"Glynda!" Ozpin shouted as he sprinted across the clearing. He came to her side, and immediately grabbed her, running her back in through the entrance of the school, ignoring everyone and everything. Rushing through the school, he took her to the main auditorium. When he bust through the doors during the students' lunch hour, it was a surprise to say the least.

"MEDIC! I NEED A MEDIC!" Students were astonished at seeing the indomitable Huntress bleeding profusely, and the aloof headmaster losing his composure.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE. SOMEONE GET ME A STRETCHER AND DR. ROWYN!" All the students cleared their surprise, realizing the true danger of the of the faster students, a female faunus with bunny ears, immediately began sprinting down the halls to the infirmary. Other older students, designated as battlefield medics, quickly cleared a table for the injured huntress. Ozpin rushed over and laid her down, praying that she would survive. The good Dr. Rowyn rushed down the hall, being led by the student. As he began emergency treatment, Ozpin walked over to another table, and sat himself down, head in hands. He looked absolutely horrible.

"Seal off the room. Any student not trained in medicine must leave for now. All meals will be held in the students rooms. Thank you for your efforts." Ozpin said lightly. Slowly, the student population was shoved out of the room by the medics, and the doors sealed. News of this injury would spread like wildfire, but Ozpin couldn't let anyone interrupt Rowyn's work at such a crucial moment.

'What do I do... What the hell do I do...' He thought to himself. To be truthful, he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Even if he was a veteran Hunter and war hero, one doesn't simply just get over their last teammate bleeding out on the table next to them. Ozpin heard the doors open and shut. The chair next to him scratched the floor as it was pulled out. Orion quietly sat down.

"I'm sorry." It was all he could say. All he could do. It was hours until the sounds of operating were finished. Rowyn walked over to the kitchens, rinsed his hands, and walked back to the two.

"It seems gentlemen, that Professor Goodwitch is stable for now. However, for the bloody life of me, I just can't stitch the damned wound shut. She certainly won't bleed out, but this is the most interesting case of injury I have ever seen."

"It's been cursed." Rowyn looked over to Orion.

"What? Cursed as in magic? I know you're a professor, but are you delirious young man?" Ozpin decided to speak up.

"Rowyn, I saw a women with working angel wings throw fireballs bigger than a house, and used dark, not the lack of light, but actual dark, to create an explosion. I'm inclined to humor Orion for now." Ozpin pulled his head out of his hands and turned to look at the seemingly younger man.

"So, Orion, how do we remove the curse?"

"The only one who could remove something so potently dark is Grandahl. All I can do for now is keep help keep her stabilized."

"So, we have to go in and fight that monstrosity again?" Ozpin said in a defeated tone.

"No." Ozpin jolted in bewilderment and anger. He slammed his fists on the table.

"No?! But you ju-"

"I will fight her. Alone. And then I will bring Grandahl here." Orion stood up as well, but it was a much calmer aura he was radiating. He nodded at Ozpin, thanked Rowyn for his assistance, and walked out of the room. Rowyn turned to Ozpin.

"I don't know what the hell went on in that forest, and I don't care as long as it stays out there. But you can't let him fight whatever the hell it was alone. Just look at what it did to Ms. Goodwitch." Having said his piece, Rowyn walked back to his room, to begin transferring Glynda to a more hospitable location.

'What the hell is going on...' Ozpin thought to himself. For a man that prided himself on his skill and comprehension, he was now left in a position where he could do nothing but watch. Essentially powerless. He tightened his fists in frustration.

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**A/N: I know there wasn't much team RWBY or JNPR but hey, whatever. I'll eventually develop them some more as well. **

**Spoiler if you're not a Pilgrim of the Dark-Skip to next -**

**Yeah I made dark lurker a female. Because it was apparently a fragment of Manus. And All the other fragments of Manus became queens that sabotaged the kings who were closest to curing the curse of the dark soul. So, Orion, which is the player character (Who was wearing Faraam, followed by Judgement Set) actually cured the curse after becoming king of all lands in Drangleic. Yet, where is the queen to sabotage him?**

**End Spoiler -**

**Thx for reading :D**


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